TODAY: Putin will not sign gas deal in China; Kudrin dismissed from military posts; NATO wants missile agreement by next year; principal’s pretrial detention death investigated; military officers and AIDS patients protest; Yetis exist? Bout trial begins.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is in China to sign a raft of deals; Reuters suggests that there are too many obstacles for a deal to be reached during the visit (such as spying accusations and delayed projects), despite ‘mutual vows of goodwill’, due to a number of disagreements and obstacles.  ‘The sides will focus on the structure of bilateral trade, the expansion of mutual investment and cooperation in hi-tech industry, and the implementation of long-term energy projects.’  Former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has been dismissed from his military-industrial and economic development government posts.  NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen wants to reach a missile shield agreement with Russia next May.